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Casa Hispana: On-Campus Spanish-Language Living

Live in a great house where you can speak Spanish, participate in cultural events, and share a great space with warm community!

The Department of Spanish & Portuguese sponsors a campus house for students interested in living in a Spanish-speaking environment. Residents speak only Spanish in the house. Two Spanish native speakers live in the house to supervise it and organize various activities. The residence is intended for students who have achieved at least an intermediate level of proficiency and want to maintain or improve their language skills, which means residents must have completed SPAN (formerly HISP) 204 or 220 (or have tested out of Macalester’s language requirement in Spanish or Portuguese). Students must take a course in the Department of Spanish & Portuguese each semester they live in the house.

Students who live in Casa Hispana are not required to be on a campus meal plan, though some decide to purchase the meal plan anyway, and applicants can choose from several single- and double-occupancy room options.

Residents of La Casa Hispana celebrate a variety of Hispanic traditions by hosting events at the house which are open to the community.

The house also functions as a hospitality center when distinguished scholars are visiting the department.

Applications for residence are typically open in February for spots in the following academic year, and in October if there are any openings during the Spring semester. When applications are open, they can be accessed from this web page. The deadline for the 2019/2020 academic year is Sunday, February 24, 2019 at 5 p.m.